episode_0002

Originally, Hyunjin and I were supposed to be at the Taekwondo gym, but we often skipped out, using the excuse of going to the library.

We had even won prizes at national competitions a few times in middle school.

But we weren’t really interested in pursuing careers related to sports, so after entering high school, we didn’t exercise very actively.

We knew very well that being a Taekwondo athlete wasn’t a great way to make a living.

The three of us, reunited, went to the corner store where we always got our alcohol, bought snacks, instant noodles, soju, and returned to Sungwoo’s place.

For us, who didn’t have much money, ordering something like fried chicken was a luxury.

We didn’t have money, but there was a certain feeling to the three of us huddling together and drinking modestly, and I liked that feeling.

Sungwoo’s studio apartment was on the second floor of a five-story building.

The soundproofing here was quite good; Hyunjin and I would often grab a guitar and sing a couple of verses when we were drunk, but no one ever came to complain.

Arriving at the studio apartment, we unpacked the contents of the bags on the small table in the middle of the room and began to seriously drink.

Sitting down, Hyunjin picked up a bottle of soju, turned it upside down, tapped the bottom with his elbow, shook it once to create a swirl, and mixed it well.

Hyunjin usually took the initiative to do this kind of thing.

He had a mischievous personality, so he probably couldn’t stand still without doing something.

After a few rounds of drinks, we felt ourselves getting warmed up and took out the guitar.

I mainly played the guitar, and Hyunjin sang. Sungwoo had no interest in singing at all.

I first grabbed a G chord and started playing the typical accompaniment of an old Korean song that flowed through C7 and Dm.

Hyunjin was a good singer. His voice was naturally beautiful, and his only hobby was singing, so most people were impressed after hearing just one verse.

…But when he got drunk, it was just a screeching sound, so it didn’t sound that good, but we were just having fun like that.

Ding-dong-

The bell of Sungwoo’s studio apartment, which never rang, suddenly rang.

What is it? This has never happened before.

We were puzzled, but we briefly stopped the loud singing and had Sungwoo open the door-

As soon as he opened the door, a large man wearing a black hat, a black mask, and all black clothes pushed Sungwoo aside and rushed at me.

“You son of a bitch, eat this!”

The dark figure rummaged through his chest, and then he had an S&W (Smith & Wesson) M60 revolver in his hand.

It was a model commonly used by the Korean police.

And I took all three bullets from that gun, excluding the blanks, all by myself and collapsed, going to see God.

A-men.

* * *

I don’t know how long it’s been, what I am.

In the first place, the recognition of ‘I’ did not exist.

Loneliness passed, it was warm, and cozy.

I must have started to recognize my ego around the age of six.

Vague memories and dreams of my past life were mixed together, and nothing was clearly distinguishable.

If there hadn’t been an event that triggered me to fully recall my past life, I would have simply mistaken the memories of my past life for dreams and they would have disappeared forever.

Gerard Kana, the only daughter of Baron Gerard.

That’s my name.

I like wooden swords more than dolls, and I don’t really like skirts and dresses.

I sometimes play with Theo, the only son of Viscount Signer.

I heard that Viscountess Signer and my mother, Gerard Ayrill, are sisters; Viscountess Signer is my aunt, and Theo is my cousin.

I spend time playing in the water and catching insects with Theo, who is a year younger than me.

Thanks to our un-aristocratic play habits, Jester, the butler who follows us as a bodyguard, seems to be having a hard time.

Being a butler seems like a really difficult job.

This is the incident that happened on my 12th birthday.

Viscountess Signer and Theo visited to celebrate my birthday.

“Welcome, Aunt Elin!”

Viscountess Signer’s name is Signer Elin.

She has long silver hair that reaches her waist, large breasts, and is a pretty person.

With a high nose and slightly drooping large eyes, she has a slightly puppy-like feel, and I like that so much.

Maybe more than my mom.

As soon as I saw Aunt Elin, I ran to her and hugged her tightly in her arms.

I buried my face in Elin’s chest, and for some reason, my face felt flushed, and my heart was consciously pounding. It feels different from my mom’s embrace.

“Our Kana is getting prettier every day?”

“Thank you. Hehe.”

My aunt really liked me too. My aunt, who didn’t have a daughter, would sometimes give me dresses and cute dolls as gifts. Of course, it wasn’t my taste.

I lightly greeted Theo, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him to my room. His face turning red, Theo seems like a real simpleton.

Once in the room, we pulled out a picture book from the bookshelf.

It’s a picture book that Dad gave me as a birthday present in advance.

The title of the picture book is .

The book has illustrations of all sorts of rare treasures.

And it was written about how the Red Dragon collected the treasures.

After reading the book, we wanted to go on an adventure to find treasure.

“Theo. Shall we look for treasure too? There must be a place to hide something like that in the house.”

“Okay. I want to find treasure!”

With our wills united, we began to search the house for treasure. Of course, subtly avoiding the eyes of the adults.

Due to the nature of the Gerard family, which doesn’t have many employees, we were able to roam around the house without much interference.

I rummaged through my dad’s study and climbed up a ladder to a wall-mounted bookcase.

I tried pulling out books and rummaging through them, but I lost interest and stepped on the ladder to go back down.

Thud-

As the ladder fell backward, I was about to fall when the bottom of the bright yellow dress I was wearing got caught on the protruding part of the bracket on the bookshelf. The white panties inside the dress were half-revealed, and a small passage appeared under the wall-mounted bookcase?

“Ka… Kana, you’re amazing!”

I don’t know if it’s because my white panties are amazing, or if it’s the passage that appeared when the bookcase was pressed, but I was embarrassed that my dress was caught and my underwear was revealed.

“B-Because I’m embarrassed, please bring the ladder quickly.”

Theo’s face turned red, and he seemed to like it subtly.

Theo, who seemed a little disappointed, brought the ladder. He could have just brought it, but he held the ladder tightly and supported it from right below.

While I was coming down holding the ladder, Theo’s gaze seemed to be on my panties.

But I didn’t pay much attention to it.

Rather, I felt a little excited with a subtle embarrassment.

Am I a bit of a pervert? A noble lady can’t be a pervert, so I’ll have to pretend I don’t know.

We carefully entered the revealed passage.

It was a bit dark, but it wasn’t that complicated, so we were soon able to find a cavity.

Inside the narrow cave, there were several weapons hanging, and there was also a table about an armful in size.

I found a sturdy-looking brown box on the table, and I felt like what was inside it would be the treasure that would satisfy us.

“Theo, this isn’t opening easily.”

“I’ll try!”

I, who wasn’t very strong, entrusted the box to Theo.

Click-

Theo opened the box without difficulty.

It was dark, so I couldn’t see the contents of the box properly.

At some point, rummaging through the box and touching it here and there.

Kaboom!

A deafening explosion came from the box, and we were startled, covered our ears, and sat down on the spot.

Perhaps the main culprit of the loud noise was the matchlock gun that my father had received as a gift from an Eastern merchant in the past.

“Hnggh…”

Theo had a terrified expression, and my head was throbbing like crazy from the sound of the gun.

“Heeing… My head…”

I grabbed my head and collapsed even though I hadn’t been shot.

While experiencing intense pain, memories that seemed like I had seen in a dream began to become clearer.

Fragments of hazy memories became vivid and were forcibly embedded in my head.

My small brain couldn’t handle the load and fainted.

* * *

When I came to, I was lying in my room on my bed.

I thought I had been shot before I fainted, but my head was jumbled, and memories were mixed up and existed.

“Come to think of it, did I die?”

When I lifted my arm, I felt bewildered yet familiar with the very white and slender visual. Seeing that there were no injuries on my body, I knew that it wasn’t Kana who was shot, but Kang Jiho.

I rolled my eyes and looked around, and I spotted the dolls I had received as gifts and familiar furniture. As I confirmed the objects, I became convinced that I was Gerard Kana, but a strong ego in one corner of my heart cried out that the name Kang Jiho existed.

While I was lost in confusion for a while, someone opened the door and came in.

It was Rien, the only maid of this Gerard barony.

“Young lady, you’ve come to your senses. I’m so glad.”

Huh? Young lady?

That’s right, I was a young lady.

Gerard Kana, the only daughter of Baron Gerard.

The title of being called a young lady is both familiar and shameful.

While I was thinking this and that, Rien soon called my mother, and my mother looked at me with a relieved expression and hugged me as hard as she could.

This was the incident that happened in the year I turned 12 years old.